The future is in their hands

Excellent Development sand dam expeditioner, William Irwen-Bourdillon, visits a school in Ukambani region of southeast Kenya, to find out what impact a water tank has had.

Children of Mituvu Primary School surround us in a sea of blue with smiling and inquisitive faces. Their water tank built by Nthangu East self-help group (and supported by Excellent) now provides the 220 attending children with water for cooking, washing and drinking each day throughout the dry season.

In Kenya, children have to bring 5 litres of water to school every day to be able to attend. The water tanks reduce this need, and enable better attendance.

The benefit of a large concrete tank also keeps the water cool and prevents evaporation which could otherwise happen with other plastic and open-top tanks.

Before children would collect water from nearby rivers which was of “questionable quality” said the deputy headmaster.

He told us how the “children can now wash their hands before lunch and fill their containers to drink” promising better hygiene and cleanliness. This all allows children to focus on their education without having to worry about collecting enough water.

Could you donate today and supply more communities with the tools, hardware, support and guidance they need to transform their own lives with lifelong access to clean water?

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£15could provide a farmer with drought-resistant seeds, so they can feed and support their family.

£30could supply a community with a rake, gardening fork, shovel and watering cans, to plant trees for fruit, fuel and fodder

£60could provide a roll of barbed wire to reinforce a sand dam, anchoring it to the bedrock.

Supporting people in drylands to build sand dams, which provide a local supply of water, means that less children die each year from curable diarrhoea and women no longer have to bare this burden. Can you help by making a donation that will stop the suffering of communities living in drylands?

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